As Members of Transportation Conference Committee, Durbin and Costello Will Work to Protect Illinois Priorities

In a letter to the Illinois Delegation, Durbin and Costello outline important Illinois projects and ask members to submit their priorities

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In a letter to all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jerry Costello (D-IL) today committed to working to protect important Illinois priorities in the upcoming House-Senate Conference Committee on the next transportation bill. They also asked the members to submit their priorities in writing in order to ensure the entire delegation is working together to protect important, job-creating Illinois transportation projects.

“As Illinois Members of the upcoming House-Senate Conference Committee on the next transportation bill, we want to protect transportation issues important to Illinois in the final Conference Report. There are significant needs for our state’s roads, bridges, transit and rail systems, and we must be serious about securing a meaningful, sustainable transportation funding plan to promote our economic future,” wrote Durbin and Costello. “The Conferees are already beginning informal discussions about the contents of the final bill. It is incumbent upon us all to work together to ensure the final transportation bill reflects Illinois’ unique place as the transportation hub of the United States.”

While asking input from other members, Durbin and Costello outlined several of their shared priorities, all of which were included in the bipartisan Senate version of the transportation bill which would maintain existing funding levels for Illinois transportation projects, improve Illinois’ transportation network and save or create an estimated 67,900 jobs in Illinois. Their priorities include protecting the following programs:

Projects of Regional and National Significance: a new competitive grant program for projects of regional and national significance that would give states and communities the opportunity to seek additional funding for significant projects. Projects that could potentially benefit from this grant program include, among others, the I-74 Corridor in the Quad Cities, the Elgin-O’Hare Western Bypass, rail relocation in Springfield and the proposed Illiana highway.

Amtrak / Intercity Passenger Rail: The Senate bill includes provisions to improve Amtrak on-time-performance when freight trains interfere with their operations. The bill also includes several provisions improving passenger rail, including allowing states greater access to federal funds to jumpstart operating passenger rail. This provision could help the State of Illinois jumpstart new passenger rail service to Rockford-Galena and the Quad Cities.

Fairness in Highway Formula Funding: Highway formula funds should be distributed in a way that reflects all funds Illinois has received in previous transportation bills, including earmarked funds for important projects like the Mississippi River Bridge in Southwestern Illinois, the CREATE project and the reconstruction of Wacker Drive

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program: The CMAQ program helps major cities pay for transportation projects that improve air quality and mitigate congestion. The Chicagoland region receives $80 million per year from the CMAQ program which it uses to fund projects such as new CTA stations, cleaner Metra diesel engines, and road improvements throughout the suburbs.

Large, Aging Mass Transit Systems: The Senate bill established a State of Good Repair program to assist public transportation systems in addressing the backlog of maintenance needs for America’s aging transit systems. The United States underfunds larger, aging transit agencies by $8.9 billion per year. Specifically, transit agencies in the Chicago area are facing a 10-year capital infrastructure backlog of more than $24 billion. These transit agencies work non-stop carrying millions of people each day, and their systems are getting older and in dire need of repair.

As Illinois Members of the upcoming House-Senate Conference Committee on the next transportation bill, we want to protect transportation issues important to Illinois in the final Conference Report. There are significant needs for our state’s roads, bridges, transit and rail systems, and we must be serious about securing a meaningful, sustainable transportation funding plan to promote our economic future.

As you know, H.R. 4348, the House legislative vehicle used to enter into a Conference Committee with the Senate is not a comprehensive bill. It includes a clean extension of current transportation law through the end of the fiscal year and several unrelated policy provisions.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee did report a five-year transportation bill (H.R. 7) to the full House of Representatives in February. However, this bill drew significant opposition and many of you also opposed to the bill because of its negative impact on the transportation network in Illinois. Due to this opposition, H.R. 7 was ultimately pulled from consideration on the House floor.

There have been reports that the House Republicans on the Conference Committee will insist on controversial provisions from H.R. 7 be part of the final Conference Report even though H.R. 7 was never passed or even considered by the House of Representatives.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Regional Transit Administration, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, the Transportation for Illinois Coalition, Illinois Chamber of Commerce, organized labor and House leaders all strongly opposed H.R. 7 because it would eliminate jobs and fails to adequately maintain and rebuild the transportation systems in Illinois. H.R. 7 contained several provisions that would have negatively impacted Illinois, including:

cutting Illinois’ highway funds by hundreds of millions of dollars over the life of the bill;

eliminating dedicated funds for bicycle and pedestrian safety projects; and

eliminating any competitive grant programs like the TIGER grant program – taking away the chance for our state and local communities to compete for regionally and nationally significant projects

In contrast, the Senate passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill by a vote of 74-22. While not perfect, the Senate-passed bill will maintain existing funding levels for Illinois transportation projects, improve Illinois’ transportation network and save or create an estimated 67,900 jobs in our state. Further, the Senate bill includes several provisions that are particularly helpful to our state, including:

distributing highway formula funds in a way that reflects all funds Illinois has received in previous transportation bills, including earmarked funds for important projects like the Mississippi River Bridge in Southwestern Illinois, the CREATE project and the reconstruction of Wacker Drive

retaining dedicated gas tax revenue for mass transit and Congestion Mitigation Air Quality grants that help reduce gridlock on our roads and improve the environment;

increase funding for mass transit in Illinois and allow CTA and Metra to compete for funds to improve their existing systems;

passenger rail provisions that will improve Amtrak’s on-time-performance and help Illinois jump start new service to Rockford-Galena and the Quad Cities; and

a new competitive grant program for projects of regional and national significance that will give our state and its communities the opportunity to seek additional funds for significant projects like the I-74 bridge, the Elgin-O’Hare Western Bypass, rail relocation in Springfield, and the proposed Illiana highway, among others.

The Conference Committee is expected to hold a formal hearing when Congress reconvenes on May 8. The Conferees are already beginning informal discussions about the contents of the final bill. It is incumbent upon us all to work together to ensure the final transportation bill reflects Illinois’ unique place as the transportation hub of the United States.

As the conference committee process begins, we ask you to share your priorities for this transportation bill in writing with us as soon as possible.